Nerding Out

In December of 2024, we splurged and treated ourselves to an Advent calendar from Onyx Coffee Lab, an amazing outfit based in Arkansas. For 24 days, we enjoyed delicious beans sourced from Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and roasted at their headquarters in Rogers, AR. I've always been kind of a coffee snob, but this experience was transformational. Along with 50 grams of coffee per day, we received tasting notes, brewing guides, and information on farming and processing. 

Onyx elevates coffee to an art, and I was hooked! At the time, my preferred brewing apparatus was a burr grinder and a Chemex pour-over, but I added a gooseneck kettle with temperature control, a scale with a timer, a couple of smaller pots, some fluted drippers, and organic paper filters to my equipment. I also order all of our coffee directly from a roaster, making my selection based on origin, processing (light-expressive, please!), and tasting notes. (pineapple brulee, cocoa nib, or marmalade, anyone?)

It's an expensive hobby! But I am intentional in my brewing, preparing just one serving at a time. (What can I say? I'm retired!) By now, I have the routine down to a science, and even so, I think not relying on a whole pot to replenish my cup makes me slow down. I am never disappointed with that first sip, or any of the later ones, either.

Why take on just one challenge when you can tackle two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for living and writing. 

How Did They Know?

Today was surely the day to get outside! Temperatures in the 70s and sunshine and blue skies as far as you could see made it a perfect spring day. It's so early in the season that the trees are still bare, and so feeling the pleasant warmth of the sun on your face is inescapable, but there's still an underlying coolness to the air that balances that heat perfectly. Hat and sunglasses were nice, but not necessary as the dog and I made our way through the mild morning.

Why take on just one challenge when you can tackle two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for living and writing. 

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah

Before I took on the teacher-coaching position I have now, it had been a while since I had run any kind of virtual meeting. Of course, I built that skill set during SY 2020-21, when we started the year teaching from home and ended it with a hybrid model, with some of the kids in the classroom while others opted to continue learning remotely.

Back then, I was pretty adept at all the bells and whistles of the platform-- taking attendance, sharing my screen, using the chat, creating breakout rooms, and muting participants if necessary. Not surprisingly, there have been changes and upgrades in the past five years, and now, like so many things, AI has changed the way online meetings work, too.

A couple of things AI can offer are a transcript and a summary of any call, complete with to-do lists for all participants. These features come with a disclaimer (for now) that AI can make mistakes, and an advisement to check for errors. In my experience, the errors have been few, though, and the summaries are actually pretty helpful. 

The transcripts, on the other hand? Are painful to read, especially when I focus on my part. I notice a lot of filler words, unnecessary repetition, and clear instances of me thinking out loud and trailing off senselessly. To my own eyes and ears, I sound like a dork.

It must be more than coincidence, I think, that lately my social media feed has been full of ads for programs that can make one sound more like an executive, confident and clear, as a speaker. It seems like AI and its minion algorithms agree with me on my professional conversational skills. 

But rather than pay for an app or a course to improve, I decided to consult, what else? AI, which kindly gave me a list of seven helpful phrases, five habits that make you sound more authoritative, a three-point simple structure for clear speaking, and four helpful reminders. The first reminder is to pause before responding.

I have a couple of calls this afternoon, and I think I'll do just that.

Why take on just one challenge when you can tackle two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for living and writing. 

Bowl of Cherries

Earlier in the week, I bought some frozen chocolate-covered cherries, thinking they would be a small, relatively healthy bite of sweetness after dinner. Unfortunately, they were a little weird texture-wise: the frozen chocolate was brittle, and the cherries were mushy and sour. They were easy not to overindulge in.

Not to worry! Chopped up and added to a batch of scones with a little almond flavoring and a sprinkle of sugar on top, the fruit added just the right amount of sweet and tart, and the chocolate was much better melted. The scones were crisp on top, with a rich, dense crumb. 

Although they were the opposite of small and healthy, they were delicious, and I enjoyed every bite.

Why take on just one challenge when you can tackle two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for living and writing. 

Check, Check, Check

Even though retired me can usually take care of all the errands during the week while Heidi is at work, there are times when we both miss our old weekend routine of heading out together with a list of stops to make and chores to check off. Today was a Saturday like that. 

The day dawned damp and gray, and Lucy had a grooming appointment at 10, so it seemed like a good idea to drop her off and start our to-do list. First up was the library, where I had some holds to pick up, and Heidi needed to renew her card. Then we were off to the car wash to scrub all the crow poop from the car. (But that's another post!)

Our next stop was the pet supply center for food and treats for our dog and cats, although we lingered at the birds, reptiles, and fish, wondering if there might be a place in our home for one (or a dozen) of them. And we were just on our way to pick up an order in town when we got the call that Lucy was ready, so we swung by to collect her before crossing the river into the city.

A little while later, we were on our way home, feeling neither rushed nor harried, but rather quite satisfied at all we had accomplished together.

Why take on just one challenge when you can tackle two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for living and writing. 

At a Pup's Pace

Walking the dog can be a delicate balance of pace. While I want to get out for a little brisk exercise, she wants to take her time and enjoy all the scents along the way. I'm all for stopping to smell the roses (occasionally), but must we also pause for every light post, fire hydrant, and even the weird frogs on a neighbor's stoop? 

I also understand that sniffing is a dog's version of social media, just as stooping for a quick pee afterwards is the equivalent of a like. But two miles an hour? Is too slow. 

I will concede this, though: considering all the dog poop my negligent neighbors have left in the aftermath of the snow, my dog never even comes close to stepping in it. 

I wish I could say the same for myself.

Why take on just one challenge when you can tackle two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for living and writing. 

Mwah!

In the summer of 2006, I participated in the Northern Virginia Writing Project Summer Institute. Spending three weeks learning and writing with teachers from all over Northern Virginia was a career-changing experience.  

An essential part of the institute was putting all of us into writing groups, and three afternoons a week, we met with four of our peers to share writing, receive feedback, and offer suggestions. So, not only was I immersed in pedagogy and literacy, but I was forced to become, in practice, the teacher-writer I knew I should be.

Three big things came out of that summer: 

1) I recentered my middle school ELA class on writing. 

2) I collaborated with a colleague to use our district's LMS (Blackboard) to build a virtual writing community shared by students in two different schools (remember, this was September 2006, the exact same month Facebook launched). 

3) Three teacher friends and I formed a writing group with the intention to meet regularly, enjoy a nice dinner, and share our writing.

Twenty years on, I'm retired, but I'd like to think I left a bit of a legacy at my school. Students there still participate in the 100 Day Writing Challenge I created after completing this very SOLSC in 2009. As for Write Here, Write Now, the virtual writing community we built back then, if we could have captured that lightning in a bottle, I might be writing to you from my seaside estate in some exotic location.

But my writing group? Continues on! And it is those friends, Ellen, Leah, and Mary, whom I am thinking of today. I love you all!

Why tackle just one challenge when you can take on two? This month, I'm using the Action for Happiness Mindful March calendar as a daily prompt for action and writing.